1. Field of the Invention
The disclosures herein relate to a piezoelectric actuator and an optical scanning apparatus having a piezoelectric actuator.
2. Description of the Related Art
Piezoelectric actuators utilizing the characteristics of piezoelectric material that exhibits deformation in response to application of voltage have been known in the art.
Related-art actuators have piezoelectric material provided on a substrate as disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example. A piezoelectric device includes piezoelectric material and a pair of electrodes between which the piezoelectric material is placed. Drive voltage is applied to the pair of electrodes to deform the piezoelectric material.
Various electronic devices of today are required to have low power conservation. Reduction in power consumption is also required in electronic devices having piezoelectric actuators, for example. As a result, reduction in the drive voltage of piezoelectric actuators is also required.
Accordingly, there may be a need to provide a piezoelectric actuator and an optical scanning apparatus for which drive voltage can be reduced.